All of this for a 5K!?

Today I ran my first official 5K race. 5 kilometers is 3.1 miles. Prior to the start of the marathon training, I had ran 3 miles straight on a few occasions, and certainly by the end of week 5 in our marathon training, 3 miles is a normal thing for me to do. In the last 5 weeks I have run a total of 48 miles, and have completed 10 separate, 3 (or more) mile runs. The 5K race should be nothing. I even thought about not doing an organized 5K race becuase I feel so established at this distance. But I should of known better.

The last 24 hours, well actually, this entire last week has been a roller coaster ride. I have attended 3 parties this week, all of which I was not "diet friendly" at. In addition to that, I wasn't even "diet friendly" on the other days that I did not have a party to attend to. Because of my crazy busy week, I did not get in a single fitness class all week until Friday's KILLER "Pump It!" class. (I did however get in my regularly scheduled runs though.) But becuase my body was out of whack from the poor food choices, and becuase I was out of the routine of weight training, my legs have been aching-jello-ham-hocks since Friday's hour-long fest of lunges, squats, mountain climbers (with slippery pads on our feet), and super crazy balancing acts on a fitness ball. It hurts to do anything but sit...and my life allows for minimal sitting.

So in addition to eating bad and feeling sore, I've had a few mental distractions as well this week. The mommy & me group that I have been heavily involved in the last 6 years, has now ended it's run as a group. I am all about things being in our life for a season, but during it's run, this group was an AMAZING asset to my life as mommy and wife. The women in this group were instrumental in making me feel like I wasn't crazy and alone. We encouraged each other, we prayed for each other, my children had a social network, and I developed several life long friendships in this group. I am ready to focus my attention in other areas, but certainly the end to anything GREAT takes it's toll on your mind and your heart.

So, I'm sluggish mentally and physically...the things in my control.

And then, the things out of my control start adding up...

* Beatrice started a fever yesterday that peaked at 103 before bed time. (At some point during the night, the fever broke and she is now fine.)

* My "2-A" (Shout out to Katie!) was going to run the race with me this morning, but her very difficult week turned out to be way more difficult than either of us could have imagined, and suffice it to say, she was unable to run with me.

* Both kiddos woke up in the night twice needing assistance. (Not a normal thing in our house...but I guess I should have expected the unexpected.)

* Crazy dreams...I NEVER dream! Well, I should say, I NEVER remember my dreams! But last night, was an exception. I dreamt that I had forgotten my water bottle for the race, and that when I got there, I was not only wearing my rain boots to run in, but that a stranger had pointed out that I was wearing a holey pajama shirt. In my dream there was a Starbucks at the starting line (After all, there is a Starbucks EVERYWHERE!), and I went in to buy a bottle of water for the race. Of all the people that walk into the Starbucks, is the one person I didn't care to see!

When the kids woke me up at 6am this morning, I was EXHAUSTED from my night of "sleep"! I had 30 minutes until I needed to leave for the race, and I was head tripping like nobody's business!

I am SO glad I did this 5K, becuase the only thing that wasn't going through my mind was, "Can I even do this run!?" I knew I could physically run the 3 miles, and so I just plugged through the rest of the junk in my mind. I am so grateful to my dad who ran the race with me and put up with my initial teary drama.



Once I got to the race, everything was better. Some of my concerns were immediately put to the wayside, and replaced with excitement. Silly things like wearing a racing bib (the paper on our shirt that displays our number) for the first time was really neat. Getting a free T-shirt, and my first racing-goody(sample)-bag was pretty fun too. The race was in support of the group, "Girls on the Run." It was so much fun to see these girls (ages 8-12) with their little Hanna Montana running groups, and getting all excited for the race. There were about 500 of us at the Starting Line. I was a little bit anxious when they yelled "GO!" at exactly 8 A.M., but after a matter of seconds, the anxiety wears off, and you just get into a running groove. Running in a large group is certainly different than running around my neighborhood by myself, and definitely different than running on a treadmill! And running in a group with a bunch of pre-teens has got to be different than running in a group with adults. These Justin-Beiber-loving girls didn't know to "stay to the right" so people could pass on the left, and even worse/sweet was how they would hold each other's hands at times and block the entire path.

But my dad and I just kept going and eventually we made it to the Finish Line together! On the treadmill, I run 3 miles in 32 minutes, and so when we finished 3.1 miles (all the while maneuvering through Katy Perry fans) in 33:18 I was pretty stoked!



First race...a success!